The Retirement Mission
by Quinis
Summary: Agent retirement from the CIA involves taking missions for situations unlikely to happen. One agent retired to New York, with the 'just in case' mission of waiting to see if Kieran Ryker would contact his twin brother, Peter Burke. One night, the unlikely happens.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** Yeah, I know. It's not Batman. But it's been a while since I've done something Chuck/White Collar related. This was the result of an idea KeJae and I tossed around a while back. Since I had it partially written, now completely written (it'll be two parts), I decided it would get uploaded first.

* * *

 **The Retirement Mission - Part 1**

* * *

There was one person in his life that Peter hoped never to see again. However, hope could only go so far. Peter looked Kieran Ryker up and down. His older twin looked good, for someone who was supposed to be dead.

"You have a lovely home here Petey," Kieran said as he looked around. Kieran's gun was tucked into his waistband, where he could grab it quickly. Peter's gun was in the safe upstairs.

"Don't call me that." Peter didn't like his brother. He wasn't sure when it started; whether it was when Kieran joined the CIA and changed his name, when he heard news that Kieran had gone rogue, or when he heard the news that Kieran had been killed, however he just realised one day that his brother was not a person he wanted in his life.

Kieran walked around the lounge room. He mostly ignored the pictures placed around and only commented on how 'hot' Peter's wife was.

"All I need is a way out of the country," Kieran commented.

Peter suspected as much. He could tell that Kieran was in trouble since the guy was acting more paranoid than Mozzie. The first thing he had done was yank out the phone cord. The second was take Peter's phone, smash it and drop it in a glass of water.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to help you," Peter commented. Kieran stopped pacing the room to stare at him.

"Isn't it obvious? I need your ID and a flight out. And for you to stay here for a couple of hours until my flight leaves."

"You want to steal my identity?" Peter was not impressed. "Don't you think I'll be the first point of call by anyone who comes looking for you?"

Kieran shrugged and turned away, dismissing Peter's concerns. He was bringing danger right onto Peter's doorstep and he didn't even care.

"What if I refuse?"

Kieran chuckled. "Do you really think you have an option? I only need you to pay for the flight."

Peter needed to think quick. The agent in him wasn't going to let Kieran get away.

"And what do you plan to do when that plane lands?" he questioned. Kieran crossed his arms and frowned.

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you my plans and have agents waiting for me when I arrive?"

Peter just stared and let Kieran think through. They both knew that Peter could have people waiting in the airport even without knowing Kieran's plans. They would just have to look out for 'Peter Burke'.

"You know I'm FBI, right? I work in White Collar."

"So what? You're not going to let me get away with it?" Kieran questioned calmly.

"So I know criminals who can forge." Peter levelled Kieran with a glare. "You're not using my name to get out of this country, get your own."

There was a tense silence while Peter wondered if Kieran was going to take the bait. Kieran pulled out the gun and Peter winced, wondering if this would be his last moment.

"How about I use your name to get out of the country and use my own after?" Kieran suggested.

Was he taking the bait?

"What?"

"Get up," Kieran ordered. "You're going to drive. Try anything funny and Mrs. Peter Burke will come home to discover she's a widow."

* * *

Peter wondered if he was doing the right thing. He stood on June's doorstep and smiled at the maid. His mind was whirling.

What if Neal got hurt? What if he said something wrong and Kieran decided to kill them both?

He knocked on Neal's door.

Peter was surprised when Mozzie opened the door.

"I didn't expect you to be here," he commented.

Mozzie looked him up and down and then turned to Kieran.

"And I didn't expect there to be two of you. What's going on?"

Kieran shoved Peter to the side as he pulled a gun on Mozzie.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know.

"Kieran," Peter scolded. "What do you think you're-"

"I'm Neal Caffrey," Mozzie responded confidently. "Who are you?"

Peter was certain his heart stopped for a moment. He wondered whether Kieran would fall for whatever scheme Mozzie was running. He wondered what the scheme was about. He wondered what Kieran would do to them if he figured out the scheme.

"You can call me Kieran." Peter's brother shoved his way into the apartment, watching them carefully as they followed him in, closing and locking the door at his order.

"I have to say, Peter, your brother is not what I expected."

"I have to agree," Peter sighed. Kieran was trouble. He was trained by the CIA but didn't conform to their restrictions. He would kill them if they failed to prove useful.

"Petey, stop talking," Kieran said, taking a seat at the dining room table. "Tell your pet con what I need."

Peter sighed, he hated that nickname. Mozzie wrinkled his nose and a noise rumbled deep in his throat. Almost like he wanted to spit at Kieran but held back.

"Kieran needs a couple of fake IDs. They need to be able to pass long enough to get him out of the country." _Again_ , Peter restrained from adding.

"I'd need time for something like that," Mozzie responded. They looked at each other, attempting to ignore Neal, who was slipping into the room from his closet.

"You don't have time," Kieran said. "Get it done or you both get shot. Petey first."

Mozzie's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Neal paused in step for a moment before pulling out a gun of his own.

Kieran caught on that there was something going on and turned.

Neal fired.

"Take cover!" he bellowed to Peter and Mozzie.

Peter grabbed the little con's shoulders and pulled him back towards the bookcase.

"We'll use this for cover," Peter said as he upended the coffee table, creating a barrier between them and Kieran.

Mozzie was pale and sweating but nodded his understanding.

"Why did you have to bring him here, Suit?" he questioned.

"Because..." Peter said, trailing off. Probably because Neal was resourceful and could quickly come up with plan. They had each other's back and Peter didn't think Neal would be happy if Peter went off and either let his brother get away or captured him at great risk to himself.

Peter was ready to jump into the fray when he started taking in the fight. Or the lack of one.

Next to him, Mozzie muttered something in awed French.

Neal had disarmed Kieran and was holding him to the ground, arm pulled behind his back and gun pointed at his head. He also looked furious. It was more terrifying than the time Peter had stopped Neal from attacking Fowler because Neal wasn't shaking. He was calm as he threatened Kieran.

"Come on, give me a reason to shoot you."

"Larkin," Kieran growled.

"Larkin?" Peter and Mozzie questioned in unison. Peter guessed this was an ID Neal had never used around Mozzie. It was also one he hadn't heard of either.

Neal gave them an apologetic smile while Kieran put up a token struggle before switching tactics.

"What? He never told you? He's the same as me, CIA. My guess, he was assigned to watch you, Petey, just in case you helped me out."

Neal rolled his eyes but when he caught Peter glaring at him, felt the need to be honest.

"He's not exactly wrong. I was assigned to watch you on the off chance that your brother contacted you. In all honesty, this was supposed to be my retirement. A nice easy mission which wouldn't involve much work."

"What kind of spy retires as a criminal?" Peter questioned.

"Probably most kinds," Mozzie responded. "We're birds of a feather."

Neal laughed at that. "Moz isn't exactly wrong. I think I've broken more laws as a spy than as Neal Caffrey."

"Doesn't seem fair."

"Probably because he's a traitor like me. You stole the Intersect, Larkin." Kieran wasn't done trying to shove a wedge between this team. "Sent it to a civilian of all people."

"And yet, here I am, with a gun to your head," Neal countered. "Who's the traitor now?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

* * *

Kieran let out a frustrated growl and tried once again to get up. Peter was silently impressed that Neal could hold someone of his bulk down.

Neal shot Peter a confident, but face, smile. "I could use a set of handcuffs."

"Honestly," Mozzie huffed before Peter could speak. "Have I taught you nothing? How easy are handcuffs to get out of?"

"Very easy?" Peter suggested. He had seen Neal slip out of them time after time. He didn't doubt that Kieran would be able to do the same. "Perhaps some rope?"

"I'll go ask June," Mozzie said.

Neal pressed his knee into Kieran's back and rested his weight on it, keeping the rogue agent pinned.

"I suppose you have questions," he said.

Peter was surprised to realise that he really didn't. In fact, this seemed to answer more questions than it created. It explained Neal's skewed sense of right and wrong and how he often jumped to the more illegal option of solving a problem but also aimed to not let anyone get hurt. It explained the range of Neal's skills and how he was able to adapt to the FBI with a smooth transition.

"You were assigned to watch me?" he finally asked.

Neal nodded.

"Why?"

"To kill you I guess," Kieran interrupted to answer.

Peter frowned at his brother. He wasn't angry, just slightly annoyed. "I asked Neal."

"His name is Bryce Larkin. He's a traitor and a thief-"

"Thief, yes. But I can't believe he's a traitor," Peter said. "Neal values his friends above himself."

Neal blinked rapidly, trying not to show how touched he was. No one had believed him like that since his recruitment into the CIA. But Peter had said it so easily.

"I was assigned to watch you on the off chance your brother contacted you," Neal answered. "Although, I guess it wasn't an off chance." Neal's next words were aimed at Kieran. "The higher ups will be happy that you're back."

"Gonna put me in a small cell, Larkin?" Kieran commented. "Like a white Intersect room?"

"Smaller," Neal quipped back. Mozzie returned with the rope and helped him tie Kieran up.

Kieran Ryker had gone silent, staring at them as they did their work. His gun was passed to Peter, who handled it using the gloves Mozzie had passed him.

"I'm not even surprised that you carry sanitary gloves."

"They have more uses than hiding fingerprints," Neal pointed out.

"I know that," Peter responded. "But let's talk about you."

"Not in front of your brother," Neal insisted.

* * *

Strange men in suits arrived and took Kieran away. Peter was sad to watch his brother be dragged out while he fought to escape but he had thought the man dead for years. It was the ache of a wound already scarred over and healed.

Neal put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about this Peter."

"Which part? The part where you're a spy and didn't tell me or the part where I just helped you arrest my brother? I know the CIA doesn't have legal holding facilities."

"They have a couple," Neal said. "But your brother is too dangerous to be left in one of those. He did try to kill Chuck, Sarah and Sarah's little sister." Peter gave him a confused look. Somehow he knew that Sarah wasn't referring to Sara Ellis. Neal grinned back. "My ex-best friend and my ex-girlfriend who is now his wife."

Peter sighed, although he was smiling. "I expect nothing less with you. Your relationships with people are always a mess."

Neal was slightly taken aback. "Really Peter? That's a little under the belt."

"Do I need to list them?"

"Please don't." Neal already had an idea of what would be listed.

"I will at least ask if you're going to let Chuck know. If you were friends and Kieran tired to kill him, I'm sure he'd like to know that he's been locked away."

Neal frowned. He didn't know how to respond to that. If he was Chuck, he would never have wanted to hear from him again. "Peter, I did some terrible things to Chuck. I don't think he wants to hear from me again."

"What did you do?"

"How high is your clearance?"

* * *

It turned out, Peter's clearance was really high. It was the result of over 10 years work in the FBI, having handled a number of highly classified cases and Hughes' influence. Peter was the guy people went to when they wanted a crime solved but also for the details to be kept within a small circle. White Collar crime was the best way to catch the slippery ones.

Peter's clearance was actually high enough for Neal to talk about Bryce Larkin, being CIA and the Intersect as long as he didn't mention who created it and where it had been hosted.

Peter listened as he worked his way through a six pack of beer, Neal actually joining him for once. When talking about Bryce Larkin, Neal preferred something without much taste that just went right through him. It reminded him of his life as Bryce Larkin. Except for the times hanging out with Chuck, it was a rather tasteless life and could almost be described as a phase. Bryce Larkin was about as real as Steve Tabernacle.

The sun peeked over the balcony and Neal finally ended his story with his second death in the Intersect 2.0 room.

"And then what? When did you next see Chuck?"

"I haven't. I learnt about Kieran's attempt on Chuck's life through General Beckman."

Peter frowned and placed the bottle on the table. "You're calling him."

"Did you hear anything I said?"

"Yes. You let your friend-"

"We weren't friends at the time."

"Your friend, because what else do you call someone who came to your rescue when you didn't want them to?"

"A very good coworker."

"Neal." Peter gave him the 'you're being painful on purpose' eye look which he also gave Neal whenever he spoke about stealing something which was displayed in front of them. Neal grinned obliviously back. Sometimes, if he ignored the look it would go away and Peter would drop the issue.

This was not one of those times. Peter insisted that he contact Chuck. So, Neal sent Chuck's security company an email. In Klingon. He had to translate it for Peter but it basically let Chuck know he was alive.

"It sounds like a letter of challenge," Peter said.

"It's Klingon, Peter," Neal said. The language was created for a race who valued combat and honour.

"You keep saying that like I'm supposed to know what it means," Peter said.

Neal dropped his head to the desk. Where to even begin? He would have to start from the ground up. First step, watch all episodes of Star Trek with Peter.

"I never thought you'd be a trekkie, Neal," Diana said.

"Diana, please explain to Peter what Klingon is," Neal said, deflecting the conversation away from him.

* * *

Chuck not only managed to read the email but he traced it, despite of all the protections Neal employed, and turned up at the White Collar office days after it was sent. Neal stared at his brown haired friend as Chuck walked through the door, face lighting up at the agents going about their business.

Chuck grinned as he spotted him and Neal quickly tried to recall if he had signed the email with his name or Bryce's.

"Neal Caffrey!" Chuck announced happily with his arms wide.

"I'm not going to hug you," Neal announced from where he was comfortably seated. Peter had noticed the newcomer and had come down, greeting Chuck happily and introducing himself.

Neal decided to start looking into the paperwork he would have to fill out so he could contact Kieran Ryker. He was going to let Peter's twin know exactly what kind of trouble he brought to Neal's retirement.


End file.
